John Hudson 1662-1719
John HUDSON 1662-1719
Biographical Note
Born at Wythop, Cumberland, son of James Hudson. Admitted a a servitor at Queen’s College, Oxford in 1676, and elected a taberder; BA 1681, MA 1684, BD and DD 1701. He became a fellow of University College, Oxford in 1686, and was Principal of St Mary Hall, Oxford from 1713 unti his death. He married Margaret Knapp.
Hudson’s was a life devoted to and dominated by books, as a classical scholar who published several editions and was closely involved with scholarly projects of others, and as the Bodleian’s Librarian, from 1701. Active in trying to expand its collections, he donated nearly 600 of his own books, and solicited the donations of others. He was dubbed ‘the Bookseller’ for his selling off the entire stock of the Oxford University press warehouse which he had acquired with two others in 1713.
Books
His will concluded with the wish that ‘University College may have soe many of my Books as they have not in the Library’. The gift was marked by a printed gift label (Lee 300). Over 35 of these University College books are currently listed in the Oxford Libraries’ Online catalogue (SOLO).
Sources
- Will of John Hudson, The National Archives PROB 11/574/474.
- Harmsen, T. ‘Hudson, John (1662–1719), librarian and classical scholar’. Oxford Dictionary of National Biography.
- Lee, B. N. Early printed book labels. Pinner, 1976.
- Philip, I. The Bodleian library in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. Oxford, 1983.